Luxembourg's forensic examination system is under scrutiny as experts call for reforms, including mandatory second post-mortem examinations, to address the issue of incorrectly filled death certificates and improve the accuracy of cause-of-death determinations.
Until now, post-mortem examinations in Luxembourg have typically been carried out by a doctor rather than an expert, i.e. a forensic pathologist. This doctor then also fills out the death certificate, on the basis of which an autopsy is performed or not.
However, past experience and German studies have shown that death certificates are often filled out incorrectly, explains Thorsten Schwark, head of the forensic medicine department at the National Health Laboratories (LNS), in conversation with RTL. In addition, the Luxembourg death certificate is overly complicated, confirms the Luxembourg City district prosecutor Georges Oswald, who therefore calls for a reformulation of the certificate and also demands that doctors and GPs undergo systematic training for post-mortem examinations.
Oswald noted: "We have had cases in the past, even in the recent past, where a natural death was ticked on the death certificate. But as conversations around the events of the day the body was found develop, we come to the realisation that something unusual had happened," explains public prosecutor Oswald.
Abnormalities recorded in 3 to 4% of cases
Suspicions related to death causes sometimes arise later, if not too late. Once the body has been cremated, all traces are gone.
In Germany, the second post-mortem examination before cremation is mandated and carried out by a forensic pathologist. The experiences of Prof Dr Benjamin Ondruschka, head of the legal institute at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, show that this second examination is worthwhile: ""At our institute, my team examines 35,000 corpses as a second post-mortem examination in northern Germany on an annual average. And we have a retention rate of around 3-4%. This means that every 20th to 25th corpse is conspicuous and requires further investigation. Either by a doctor or by the criminal investigation department."
In Luxembourg, not only forensic doctors, but also the public prosecutor's office has been demanding a second post-mortem examination for many years. According to Oswald, what is needed in this much-debated issue is a legal framework that defines who carries out the examination, as well as the criteria according to which the examination is done.
The ministries of justice and health are responsible for this issue. The new Minister of Health, Martine Deprez, has meanwhile assured that she will make progress on the case, with the infrastructure for the second post-mortem examination planned to be installed in the Hamm crematorium.
